Lifeboat Foundation

Essentially beyond this is a higgs boson reactor essentially a universe of power in a jar.

Scientists have longed to create the perfect energy source. Ideally, that source would eventually replace greenhouse gas-spewing fossil fuels, power cars, boats, and planes, and send spacecraft to remote parts of the universe. So far, nuclear fusion energy has seemed like the most likely option to help us reach those goals.

Coming up in the next week: Launches by Soyuz, Falcon 9 and H-2A rockets from spaceports in Russia, Florida and Japan.

See our list of confirmed launch dates for upcoming missions:

A regularly updated listing of planned orbital missions from spaceports around the globe. Dates and times are given in Greenwich Mean Time. “NET” stands for no earlier than. “TBD” means to be determined. Recent updates appear in red type. Please send any corrections, additions or updates by e-mail to: sclark@spaceflightnow.com.

See our Launch Log for a listing of completed space missions since 2004.

Continue reading “NRO, the U.S. spy satellite agency, preps for first dedicated launch on foreign soil” »

On Sunday (Jan. 19), SpaceX’s Crew Dragon launched on a brilliant a high-altitude test of its launch escape system.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk called the in-flight abort test flight “picture perfect,” and, in looking at the stunning images of the test, he was absolutely right. Following a weather delay, Crew Dragon lifted off at 10:30 a.m. EST (1430 GMT) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Circa 2015

Spaceships in movies and TV shows routinely use tractor beams to tow other vessels or keep them in place. Physicists have been hard at work trying take this technology from science fiction to reality. Significant process has recently been made by a team who have developed a laser tractor beam able to attract and repel particles about 100 times further than has been previously achieved. The lead author of the paper, published in Nature Photonics, is Vladlen Shvedov at Australian National University in Canberra.

Other recent tractor beams have used acoustics or water, but this one uses a single laser beam to control tiny particles about 0.2 millimeters in diameter. The tractor beam was able to manipulate the particles from a distance of 20 centimeters, shattering previous records. Despite this incredible distance, the researchers claim it is still on the short end of what is possible for this tractor beam technique.

Continue reading “Physicists Develop Reversible Laser Tractor Beam Functional Over Long Distances” »

SpaceX simulated an in-flight emergency Sunday to verify the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has the capability to catapult itself away from a failing Falcon 9 rocket.

The in-flight abort test demonstrated the human-rated capsule can safely and rapidly fly away from a Falcon 9 rocket experiencing a failure.

As intended, the Falcon 9’s engines prematurely shut down around 84 seconds after liftoff Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center. The automated Crew Dragon capsule fired its own thrusters to escape the rocket before it disintegrated in an orange fireball high over Florida’s Space Coast.

SpaceX simulated an in-flight emergency Sunday to verify the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has the capability to catapult itself away from a failing Falcon 9 rocket.

Check out more spectacular photos of as a fireball engulfed the Falcon 9 — as expected — and the unpiloted Crew Dragon fired thrusters escape the launch vehicle (📷: Katie Darby & Spaceflight Now):

SpaceX completed its last major test before flying astronauts to space on Sunday, in a critical high-speed mission that lasted mere minutes.

Launched on top of a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the company conducted a test of its Crew Dragon capsule called in-flight abort.

“Overall, as far as I can tell thus far, this was a picture perfect mission,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a press conference after the test. “I’m super fired up; this is great.”

Cheers, SpaceX 👏

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can celebrate a big step toward launching astronauts from US soil.

SpaceX will sacrifice a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday in a fiery test a minute-and-a-half after liftoff from Florida’s Space Coast to prove the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft can safely push astronauts away from a failing launch vehicle, simulating a daring maneuver that would only be attempted on a piloted mission during an in-flight emergency.

The launch escape demonstration could be a spectacle for local residents, rocket fans and enthusiasts along the Space Coast, assuming clear skies and good visibility, according to SpaceX.

Continue reading “SpaceX will trigger an intentional rocket failure to prove crew capsule’s safety” »